The European Commission requested full details from Arianespace and the European Space Agency about two satellites that were launched into the wrong orbit. A Soyuz launch vehicle launched the two satellites as part of the Galileo constellation Friday (CD Aug 20 p13). The EC also requested a schedule and plan of action to rectify the problem, it said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1p876RL). The commission said it’s participating in the inquiry board to identify the causes of the problem, “which is expected to present preliminary results in the first half of September.” The inquiry board will start its work Thursday, and submit initial conclusions as early as Sept. 8, Arianespace said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1rvesAE). An anomaly “is thought to have occurred during the flight phase involving the Fregat upper stage, causing the satellites to be injected into a noncompliant orbit,” Arianespace said.

ViaSat is offering Exede satellite Internet plans in Hawaii that provide virtually unlimited data usage for communications, Web browsing and streaming media. Hawaiian communities will have access to at least 150 gigabytes of monthly data without a strict data allowance as part of the Freedom plan, ViaSat said Wednesday in a news release (http://prn.to/1ABDbE6). Hawaiian communities are among a limited number of markets in the U.S. selected for the plan, ViaSat said.

O3b requested special temporary authority to operate an earth station to be located in Houston for the period Oct. 24-Nov. 23, it said in its application to the FCC International Bureau (http://bit.ly/1pODMym).

Arianespace’s Soyuz launch vehicle is in the launch zone for a Thursday mission to launch satellites for Europe’s Galileo space-based navigation system. Arianespace will launch two satellites from French Guiana, it said Monday in a news release. The Galileo program will create a European-operated navigation system “providing highly accurate global positioning services through a constellation of 27 operational satellites and three reserves,” it said (http://bit.ly/1AsZHPp).

Dish Network accepted its first bitcoin payment, it said Thursday in a news release (http://bit.ly/XkQR8F). The bitcoin payment option is now available for Dish customers through www.mydish.com, it said. Customers will still have the option to make any payment online with a credit card, debit card or from a bank account, it said.

The FCC International Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology allowed EchoStar to modify its license for the EchoStar 6 satellite. The satellite can operate at 96.2 degrees west, and use the 12.2-12.7 GHz and 17.3-17.8 GHz frequency bands, the offices said Tuesday in an order (http://bit.ly/VgGNvJ). They also granted related applications for modification of three EchoStar licenses for earth stations used for technical support of EchoStar 6 operations, the order said. Granting the modifications will serve the public interest by facilitating possible development of new services to the Atlantic Ocean region, it said.

Dish Network will air the forthcoming SEC Network on channel 404. Current subscribers to the America’s Top 120+ package or higher will receive the SEC Network and Longhorn Network at no additional cost, Dish said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/XXGBmw). The network will launch Thursday, Dish said.

Gogo again told the FCC that the public interest would be best served by dividing the proposed 500 MHz air-to-ground (ATG) mobile broadband service into four 125 MHz licenses. A single 125 MHz license could provide more than 16 times the peak capacity of Gogo’s current ATG network and more than 110 times the capacity of conventional Ku-band satellite systems, Gogo said in an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 13-114 (http://bit.ly/1AXMBe8). Coordination or protection requirements for certain federal services in the 14.0 GHz-14.5 GHz band wouldn’t impair the viability of any of the 125 MHz licenses, it said. Gogo also repeated that the commission should exempt ATG services from 911 and E-911 rules, including text-to-911, it said. The filing was about meetings with staff from the offices of Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Ajit Pai, Mike O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel, and other FCC staff.

The California Assembly passed SB-962, which would require smartphones sold in the state after July 1, 2015, to be pre-equipped with a kill switch that could be activated if the device is lost or stolen. The state Senate had previously also passed the bill, introduced by Democratic state Sen. Mark Leno, but must now vote on it again to concur with amendments added by the Assembly, Leno’s office said (http://bit.ly/1nx06aO). One amendment would allow the continued sale of smartphones introduced before 2015 that can’t “reasonably” be re-engineered. The bill’s passage Thursday in the Assembly means “we are on the verge of implementing regulations that will have tremendous benefits to public safety,” said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón in a news release. The bill had encountered significant opposition from the wireless industry, but its prospects improved last month after the Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce Committee approved the bill.

Intelsat and Orange Niger signed a multiyear agreement for C-band capacity on Intelsat 903. Capacity will be used to support deployment of cellular backhaul services in Niger, Intelsat said Wednesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1zU97De). Orange Niger will use its expanded network reach to offer broadband services to corporate enterprises, and mobile telecom services to customers, it said. Orange Niger also plans to move to Intelsat 35e when it enters service, Intelsat said.